James McAtee nets hat-trick as Man City thrash neighbours Salford in FA Cup rout
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James McAtee grabbed a second-half hat-trick as Manchester City powered into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a ruthless 8-0 demolition of League Two neighbours Salford. Jeremy Doku weighed in with two goals while Jack Grealish ended his long scoring drought and youngsters Divin Mubama and Nico O’Reilly also struck in a one-sided encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
It was a brutal exhibition by a much-changed City, whose fans revelled in the beating dished out to their ‘Class of 92’-owned visitors. Gary Neville, one of that group of famous former Manchester United players, was taunted mercilessly as the goals flew in.
The England full-back turned pundit and businessman was not actually present to witness the rout, but colleagues Nicky Butt and Paul Scholes were on hand to see it unfold in agonising detail from the stands. Ryan Giggs, the sporting director who also has a backroom role, was also at close hand in the technical area as the biggest game in Salford’s history quickly turned sour.
City made nine changes from the side that overran West Ham last weekend and took the opportunity to hand a debut to 20-year-old Mubama and further experience to 19-year-olds O’Reilly and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey. Simpson-Pusey was one of only two specialist defenders in the side along with the experienced Nathan Ake but, with a bench stacked with quality, Pep Guardiola had plenty of insurance should things have gone wrong.
